Front

The way we build is being disrupted: one financing and delivery mechanism, technology, and start up at a time.

What is AEC Labs?

Conceived in the trenches of URS Corporation and, today, AECOM, AEC Labs has an industry-specific focus: to identify, analyze, and discuss the early-stage startup companies, trends, and technologies that are disrupting the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Our team has an extensive, on-the-ground AEC background: we understand tech’s potential and recognize the industry’s pitfalls. We offer a unique blend of expertise and insights that is truly distinct from other AEC players.

Things have been quiet around here lately, but it’s been a busy couple of months in the construction tech space. Before we get back into the swing of things this fall, here’s a roundup post with our analysis of some companies, deals, and stories that caught our eye over the summer.

The construction software startup Grit Virtual is using virtual reality models that are crowdsourced from labor in the project trenches to better plan construction schedules and prioritize labor workflows in the field.

A recent article in the UK’s Construction News publication (also picked up nationally here in the US by Bisnow) suggests that Amazon is “reinventing” the construction and real estate development markets thanks to its incredible growth, both in the US and abroad. But what, specifically, does that mean? And should construction industry stakeholders feel “emboldened” or “threatened” by Amazon’s disruptive tactics? Could the company vertically integrate into a development, design, and construction operation that serves third-party clients? We tackle all of these questions in this article here at AEC Labs.

Reconstruct calls itself an integrator of the “ABCs” of construction tech (artificial intelligence, BIM, and computer vision); its product is a software tool that simultaneously applies reality capturing, BIM, and project scheduling. It assembles images and data from drones, handheld cameras, and laser scanners to create 3D models of a project during construction. Simultaneously, the model integrates the project schedule from Oracle’s Primavera, Microsoft Project, and BIM models.

The Seattle-based construction tech startup Unearth has announced another round of funding, which it will use to launch its software product that captures a digital a snapshot of what’s happening on a construction project site in real time; the company says it saves project stakeholders time, boosts efficiency, and can help prevent margin erosion.

I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel at the first Builtworlds Project Conference in New York City that discussed the future of the construction industry. What technologies will be most disruptive both in the short- and long-term? Where are our respective AEC organizations seeing specific challenges and opportunities for innovation? In this article, I’ve outlined some of those questions as posed to the panel with my own answers.

Whether you’re an investor, inventor, architect, engineer, or construction professional, we want to hear from you. Tell us about your ideas, your companies, or the pain points in the field that technology might be able to help solve. We’ll feature you on our blog or, maybe, end up working together. Either way, tell us what you’re up to, and let’s start a conversation about the future of the AEC industry.

Name

Email Address

Message

12 + 3 =

Search for:

Become a subscriber!

The future of the AEC industry.

Delivered to your inbox.

Sign up to get every new AEC Labs article and other important updates with our team's latest thoughts on the future of tech and the construction industry.